Dialogue
by stillkneedeep
Summary: And all she can think of is the sweet scent of hay in the summer heat. ILIA/LINK. ONESHOT. m for slight sexual content.


Link and Ilia were friends from the day he was brought to Ordon as an orphan.

It was like love at first sight, only it wasn't love: it was instant friendship, companionship, and trust.

Link moved in with Fado, the owner of the small village's only ranch. He was brought up as a ranch hand; he helped Fado capture the goats that often escaped from the ranch and often took Mayor Bo's punishment. From the day he was strong enough he helped construct anything that needed to be built, from a treehouse for he and Ilia to share to a new section of fence around the ranch. He took care of goats and almost any other sort of animal, and any time when he wasn't working, he was almost always with Ilia.

The two were inseparable. They did almost everything together. It was almost impossible to see Link with Ilia, or vice versa. Even when Link was working, Ilia would hang around the ranch and help with the animals, lightening Link's workload. They often spent hours together in the barn, sometimes tending to animals, sometimes mucking stalls, sometimes spreading hay, sometimes doing absolutely nothing but laying on the hay—but always talking.

When they were young, their talks mostly revolved around simple, non-taxing subjects; subjects ranging from Sera having her first child soon (and wouldn't it be nice if it were a girl for Ilia to spend time with while Link worked at the ranch because really, she can't always hang here, can she?) to the recent monkey infestation (they've never been a problem before, only recently have they started spending time in Ordon, what could have caused this change?) to the announcement of Pergie having her first child (it's about time, haven't they been trying to have children for ages?)

But as time passes, the once innocent, young children mature, and so do their talks; gone are the days of silly jokes and meaningless chatter. They discuss important things now, and speculate about the future that seems so close and yet so far away.

Most days they talk of the government in Ordon (Mayor Bo has been in charge for so long, and isn't someone else ever going to replace him?) or the government of the neighboring provinces (it's a monarchy, you know, and did you hear that the king passed away, leaving behind his single daughter to rule the kingdom?) or the economic situation (oh, did you know that Ordon's crops are exceedingly popular among the few people who inhabit Snowpeak, the mountain chain in the far northwest corner of Hyrule?)

It's rare, but on some strange days the two recently matured teenagers sit on the scratchy hay and speculate about the outside world.

It's Link more so than Ilia; he longs to leave Ordon and see what the world has to offer. After all, there's only so much one can take of herding goats, caring for animals, and entertaining youngsters one can take. He itches to go out and explore, to ride Epona through the endless green field of Hyrule that Rusl always talks about with such vigor. Some days he openly contemplates joining the Hyrulian Guard and meeting the princess, who they say is just as smart, competent, and just as she is beautiful. This usually makes Ilia frown, and he grins sheepishly before changing the subject.

Ilia doesn't usually contribute much to these conversations. The outside world is so strange, so foreign to her, and when she thinks of the things that could happen outside her dear village, goosebumps rise upon her skin. She makes it quite clear that she's perfectly happy here in Ordon tending to Epona for Link, taking care or Malo, Talo, Colin, and Beth, and learning the basics of government from her father. She often shies away from Rusl's talks of wide open spaces and large towns milling with people, preferring to admire the beauty around her in Ordon. But for some reason she can't explain, whenever Link talks of leaving with that serious look on her face, her heart plummets into her stomach.

Time passes, and before they even comprehend it, things begin to change.

And over time, Link begins to notice things he never noticed before. Like how much bigger he is compared Ilia-- he feels like a giant compared to her tiny, delicate frame. Slowly, he notices the way she walks (it's like a shuffle combined with a ballet step) and the way she laughs (soft, gentle laughter that makes him smile).

Ilia takes longer than Link, but she slowly follows suit. She notices how he can make her feel at ease without saying a word—how his presence instantly calms her down. When she locks eyes with him now, her face burns for some reason she just can't explain. And she doesn't know why, but she suddenly notices his strength—how he can do things she could never dream of doing without breaking a sweat.

Their observations, however, are silent. Their daily talks continue undisturbed save for the fact that they sit further apart.

Inside the village, things are changing as well with the passing of time; Mayor Bo almost always looks tired, weak, and frazzled. Rusl is gone far more than he should be; especially with Uli as pregnant as she is (is it seven months now? Or is it eight?). Even the children notice the change and become calmer, more reserved. The entire village is uneasy; as if it's holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

On a certain day, at high noon when the sun is at its peak and the heat is merciless, they're sitting in the hay as always, discussing what they think Lake Hylia looks like, when Link suddenly turns to her and tells her with sad blue eyes that he's leaving.

Inside, her world crashes down. This is it. Even if it's for a silly delivery, he's leaving, and he'll become entranced by the outside world he's never seen. He'll be taken with it and he won't come back; he'll forget Ordon and Malo and Talo and Colin and Beth and _her_. But she doesn't look remotely sad or dismayed—instead she smiles and says, "I know."

Silently, she lies back on the hay and closes her eyes, focusing on breathing. When she opens her eyes, he's leaning over her, far too close for comfort.

Her breath catches in her throat. The world stands still. The goats are silent.

For a moment they stay like that, staring into each other's eyes, memorizing every detail of each other's faces. The hay scratches at her back, but she really doesn't mind; she can only focus on him (and trying to breath). After a few more moments of silence resonate through the empty barn, she closes the distance.

Their lips brush once and then separate, and she feels her cheeks burn with the intensity of the sun that beats down on the roof of the barn. After a few more moments of shallow breathing on both of their parts, they meet again, and this time, they hold the kiss.

Unconsciously, she reaches a hand up and threads it in his hair; it's soft and well kept—as expected of Link. She can smell his scent lingering with the sweet smell of the hay in the summer heat and it's absolutely intoxicating and she wants to bottle this scent and hold onto it for as long as she can.

The kiss isn't by any means experienced; it's sloppy and experimental. She's never kissed anyone before, and she knows that he hasn't either (besides an "accidental" kiss from Beth once when they were still children). But even if it's awkward and shoddy and slightly unromantic, it's new and thrilling and engaging. She traces circles on his neck and wills the moment to last forever.

One of his hands finds its way to the small of her back, where it rests, and the other grabs onto her arm. His hands are calloused, coarse and rough from years of farm work, but it's not an unpleasant sensation when he slides his hand down her arm.

She finds her hands sliding over his shoulders and eventually placing themselves on his chest. The wander down and then back up again, exploring every curve and detail of his body. She feels him suck in a sudden intake of air and a small smile graces her lips. She's so preoccupied with her current task that she doesn't realize his hand sliding up her shirt until he squeezes her right breast and her body jerks involuntarily.

She can feel him smile against her lips and a shiver runs up her spine.

The rest of his touches are all experimental; he always looks at her to see what he's doing right and to make sure she's comfortable. Her face burns every time he steals a glance and she feels partly ashamed, partly overwhelmingly happy. They stay like this, entwined, touching, feeling, learning, until the sun begins to go down.

Their experience isn't skilled or ideal, but it's enough.

Ilia can't remember the next few days, or weeks, or perhaps even months. She has no memory of her capture (_can you at least promise me this?_) or what became of the children (_no matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything… out of your league_) or how she came to Kakariko (_please. just come home safely._) Her whole memory is a whirlwind of events and all she can recall is capturearrowreleaseskyrodImpazhiddenvillagePrinceRalismedicinedoctorKakarikoTelmaEpona'scharm_Link_.

Link.

But before she can really speak to him he's left her in the sanctuary of Kakariko, off to fight an unspeakable evil, and she's inconsolable.

Time passes, things change, and life goes on, but even after returning to her beloved village of Ordon, Ilia waits for Link to come back. She waits to converse while sitting on the hay again, to laugh at one of his cheesy jokes, to tend to Epona while he works, to listen to his dreams of the outside world, to touch him again, to breathe that mingled smell of his scent and the fragrance of sweet hay in the merciless summer heat.

She waits and waits and waits and one day Fado comes running up to her, out of breath, and says the two words she's waited for.

He's back.

And then they take off running, running, running, with the children in fast pursuit. Fado takes the lead with his legs strong from years of work; Ilia right behind him, struggling to match his pace; then Colin, whose legs have become much stronger as of late; Beth, determined to stay with Colin; Talo, dragging Link's old wooden sword; and Malo waddling in the rear, hardly enthusiastic to be a part of this silly entourage.

But there's no one there.

Fado calls and calls his name at his house, hoping in vain that he'll emerge, prepared to help herd goats. Colin stands strong and silent. Beth bites her lip nervously. Talo looks completely crestfallen. Malo just sighs as if he knew this would happen, and turns on his heel, proceeding back to the village, a barely there look of sadness on his face.

Ilia runs towards the Faron Woods and stops short at the entrance. She sees his retreating back, clad in green, his shield strapped on securely and his hat flapping in the wind. His strong legs are squeezing Epona's sides, urging her on, keeping a quick pace as he rides away from Ordon, his home. And it makes sense. A hero doesn't belong in a tiny village herding goats or tending to animals or spending time conversing with silly little girls about silly little topics in a silly little barn.

Still, she wants to yell his name. Scream. _Do something._

But she doesn't. And then he's gone.

And all she can think of is the sweet scent of hay in the summer heat.

* * *

**Ta-da. God, this is my first fic in almost a year.**

**This just kind of popped in my head one day while I was wakeboarding after having played a lot of TP what. I don't even know. It wouldn't go away until I wrote it. To be honest I don't even like this pairing all that much.**

**Hopefully I did okay with the sexual part :\ I'm not good at writing stuff like that but when the story came into my head that was there. I'd rather write fluff man.**

**ALSO I really hope they're in character. A lot of my writing comes from me hearing things the character would say in my head, so usually I have a voice in mind, but Zelda doesn't have voices. ._.  
**

**I don't own Zelda, blah blah blah, you all know the drill.**


End file.
